On many fronts I’m delighted Fergus McCann feels confident enough to get back involved with Celtic, some 15 years after departing the scene. It wasn’t always this way. We reached our first European final in 33 years largely as a result of the groundwork he put in place, but he didn’t feel comfortable making the trip to Seville.
He was first tempted back at the unveiling of the Br. Walfrid statue, using the occasion to put the club’s charitable heritage to the fore. He has since been back to speak at Celtic Charity, now called Celtic FC Foundation, events.
His intervention today, saying “It is important for people to stand up and show their support by buying season tickets. That is my simple message” echoes a letter he sent to season ticket holders in 1995. Celtic had endured a difficult season at Hampden, if memory serves, we finished below Hibernian in the league, sentiment was low and as season 94-95 drew to a close I remember thinking the rebuilding project was in jeopardy.
Only 31,025 souls turned up to watch an end of season victory against Rangers with many unsold tickets in the Celtic areas of Hampden. Fergus was also unpopular among a sizable portion of the support, with prominent Celtic supporters only too happy to undermine his reputation.
The season ticket renewal packs arrived with a letter from Fergus which invoked memories of his trip to Kilmarnock in 1963 to see Celtic ship six goals during Jimmy Johnstone’s debut. Fergus knew what the years ahead would hold for Celtic but he needed faith from you and me or the project would have been in real jeopardy.
To everyone’s pleasant surprise Celtic fans rallied in great numbers as the new stadium opened. So much so I was scrambling around trying to get a season ticket as the ‘sold out’ sign went up before I got myself sorted. It took another couple of years before we recorded one of the most momentous league wins in our history but the strategy was sound. It was always going to get there while others played casino football.
This week, Fergus wrote, “The league is important going forward. Filling the seats makes a huge difference to the club’s chances of getting the players it wants, paying the salaries and getting into Europe.
“The rebuilt Celtic Park has 60,000 seats for a purpose. It was built on my belief that 60,000 at every home game would give the club a key advantage. And it has.
“Season ticket cash is essential for Celtic to buy players while TV income is a small fraction of that of the bottom club in the English Premier League. But not all-important. Personal attendance at every game – through and through – is a key part of our culture. It shows how important Celtic is in our lives.
“We both know that you don’t stop being a committed supporter of Celtic because the league doesn’t include Rangers, or because you feel you could pick the few big games you want to attend. For years I went to ‘unimportant games’. In fact, I was at every Celtic game, home and away, in the year before I emigrated to Canada.”
Ticket sales is one of those things which bends more with sentiment than we often consider, but we are at a new beginning this summer, one which many feel hopeful for. I reckon there is a good chance we’ll see an up-click as the Ronny Deila Days start.
Tune in on Friday. After the CQN Lions night at the Greenock Celtic Supporters’ Club on Friday, we will have Bertie Auld on the blog this Friday, 13th. More details later in the week.
And just in case you’ve been living on the moon this past week, watch BBC Alba at 21:00 tonight for the Jock Stein film.
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his tome, All the Best.
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Dont know why Cromwell gets such bad press.
If he was as bad as some say then there wouldnt be a whopping big statue in Parliament Square.
Or am I missing summit
SIPSINI
Pleased as punch for her,mate.
On both counts.
The recent attacks have been far too prevalent,and I’m delighted that they seem to have identified the perpetrator.
We should all be able to walk he streets safely.
Sipsini, congratulations to your daughter.
So the SFA are thinking about moving out of Hampden eh? I think we all smell a Rat.
Maybe that’s what the initial “R” stands for before the C Og!
Doc/CRC attempted to do the CQN WC last night, PC playing up so will sort it tonight.
I sit doon corrected
sipsini
Congrats to your daughter
HH
Hamiltontim is praying for Oscar
11:44 on 10 June, 2014
‘Worcester Cathedral is a smashin’ wee place to spend a few hours on a drookit afternoon.
Ole Elgar is buried there.’
###
Don’t think so. Elgar was a Catholic.
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2337
Clink\o/
11:51 on 10 June, 2014
Because in some ways he was politically progressive.
29*C here today, just waiting for the next storm coming in, this afternoon. Last night’s storm was a brammer and nearly did my tomato plants in ( first attempt ever at growing them – it’s normally weed ;-)) Sorry weeds!
Aff oot back to work.
Ernie
Apologies you are of course correct, I’ve even been to St Wulstan’s in Malvern where he’s buried!
There is a large glass window in memory of him in Worcester Cathedral and at the beginning of the High St is a large statue.
Clink
Read The Cromwellian Settlement of Ireland by John Patrick Prendergast. It’s hard going in places but will give you an insight into Cromwell.
Sispini
Well done to the girl, she didnae lick it aff the grun :-)
Ole Ernesto has got his game face on the day.
He should go on ‘Popmaster’.
Yes – ole Elgar was a Tim all right. He had a few hits in his day but will be best remembered for the tune he wrote as an outro for classic sitcom “It Ain’t Half Hot Mum”
Anyone else getting pop-ups from bookies when coming on to CQN?
Sispini -well done to your lass
tomtheleedstim
12:13 on 10 June, 2014
Anyone else getting pop-ups from bookies when coming on to CQN?
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Yip. Corals. Doing my box in!!
tomtheleedstim
12:13 on 10 June, 2014
Anyone else getting pop-ups from bookies when coming on to CQN?
Yip told them to get oot my hoose,……………………
Apologies to all for coming late to this and no doubt its all already been said…
Just caught up with the BBC Alba Jock Stein documentary.
Clearly hagiographic but wonderfully so.
The last 10 minutes…so emotional. A grown man should not have tears trickling down his cheeks.
That the modern Celtic has the imprint of Fergus but what the club is, what the players aspire to and what supporters mean and do is about one man and one man only…
JOCK (JOHN) STEIN
“It could be the greatest game in the world but if there are no people there to watch it then it becomes nothing. The fans are the lifeblood of the game”
Hail Hail to all you good Celtic men and women
Tomtheleedstim- do the pop-ups not depend on your ole browsin’ history?
I get a few regardin’ the ole Allman Brothers.
tomtheleedstim
12:13 on 10 June, 2014
‘Anyone else getting pop-ups from bookies when coming on to CQN?’
##
No.
Should I be worried?
Am I missing out?
Aren’t these things to do with your browsing history. Did someone not point that out to John Prescot who blamed the Tories (or something) for all the pornographic pop up ads he was getting?
Sipsini
During the teachers’ debate on here last week, I think you posted that two of your sisters were heidies and that one of them had a lot of work done on her school recently. Did you come from Castlemilk?
bring back ‘World of Tanks’.
NatKnow – yes, annoying as hell. This is the only place I get them as well.
sipsini
Wooooooooooohhhhooooooooooo
Congratulations to your daughter.
Wait till you see the reaction when you tell her you told CQN about her achievements
:))))
Congrats to sipsini ghirl for her clever cloggery.
An A in accounts?
No chance of a job at the ole deathstar then ;/)
tomtheleedstim
12:17 on 10 June, 2014
You could install an ad blocker.
Or maybe delete your browsing history.
DONTBRATTBACKINANGER
Au contraire,old bean.
Anyone who can convince professional footballers and their agents-cynics and moneygrabbers to a man-that Rangers are viable must be a genius wi accounts.
Browsing history? I’m in work where gambling sites are blocked. Probably just as well – I’d have caved by now and be laying thousands on the bingo.
Sipsini
Great result for your girl and well done to her on one of the most difficult subjects
Yes, well done to the women who took part in last night’s demo regarding the recent attacks on women in the south side. Perhaps if the high heid yins in the Glasgow Police put as much effort in deploying their officers in the streets as they do into harassing the Green Brigade at matches and coming off planes at Glasgow Airport, the streets might be safer for women to go about their business.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
12:17 on 10 June, 2014
bring back ‘World of Tanks’.
——————————————————————–
Always assumed World Of Tanks was some rhyming slang by Paul67?
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy
12:28 on 10 June, 2014
Yes, well done to the women who took part in last night’s demo regarding the recent attacks on women in the south side. Perhaps if the high heid yins in the Glasgow Police put as much effort in deploying their officers in the streets as they do into harassing the Green Brigade at matches and coming off planes at Glasgow Airport, the streets might be safer for women to go about their business
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I was chatting to a recent ex-cop the other day. He reckons that since everything is now about managing budgets and producing dodgy statistics, there is no real interest at the top of Police Scotland in preventing and solving actual crime. As long as the MI looks good – that’s what matters.
theoriginalsadiesbhoy
12:16 on 10 June, 2014.
Ye, we all went to St Margaret Marys.
Just like to thank all that posted re my daughter.
It’s been a long road bringing my daughter and son up, it’s worth it when you are told news like that.
Time for bed, nightshift tonight.HH
Brammer :))
Clink\o/
11:51 on 10 June, 2014
Dont know why Cromwell gets such bad press.
If he was as bad as some say then there wouldnt be a whopping big statue in Parliament Square.
Or am I missing summit
is there a statue of john greig at ibrokes ???
tomtheleedstim
12:17 on 10 June, 2014
NatKnow – yes, annoying as hell. This is the only place I get them as well.
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I get the ad at work and on my home PC. Very irritating.
Natknow
It’s the same everywhere. I am mystified, however, at the number of police officers who are deployed at Celtic games and of the reports we hear and read of telling that 4 policemen arrested a guy coming off a plane because there was a picture of him holding a banner depicting a zombie being shot. We also hear of young ghuys being arrested in dawn raids because they were in the Green Brigade and as for the number of vehicles used and officers deployed in the kettling incident – well you have to wonder about priorities.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
I work part-time for an IVF organisation (that’s test-tube IVF, not Ulster paramilitaries). So you should see the pop-ups I get.
How do I get Allman Brothers pop-ups?
sipsini
12:32 on 10 June, 2014
theoriginalsadiesbhoy
12:16 on 10 June, 2014.
Ye, we all went to St Margaret Marys.
Just like to thank all that posted re my daughter.
It’s been a long road bringing my daughter and son up, it’s worth it when you are told news like that.
Time for bed, nightshift tonight.HH
……………………………….
I think the younger of the two (G) was my depute head for 5 years!
Just watched tribute to Big Jock on BBC Alba.
Excellent. What a man !
Alex O Henley very good presenter. Used to watch him on Celtic a TV.
Brought back some memories.
HH